In the ever-evolving marketing landscape, measuring campaign performance is crucial for success. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, understanding how users find your brand is essential. But with so much data available, where do you even begin?
This is where campaign parameters come in. They act as tiny breadcrumbs, allowing you to track how users interact with your campaigns across different channels. However, with a plethora of parameters at your disposal, it can be overwhelming to know which ones to focus on, especially for manual tracking.
Fear not, fellow marketers! This blog dives deep into the three essential campaign parameters recommended for manual campaign tracking: Medium, Source, and Campaign. We’ll explore their functionalities, delve into best practices, and provide tips for seamless implementation.
The Big Three: Unveiling Medium, Source, and Campaign
Imagine a user clicking on a link in your social media post. While the click itself tells a story, it doesn’t reveal the entire journey. This is where the magic of campaign parameters unfolds. By appending specific codes to your URLs, you can paint a clearer picture of where your traffic originates and how users interact with your campaign.
Here’s a breakdown of the three essential parameters:
- Medium (utm_medium): This parameter identifies the marketing channel that brought the user to your site. Examples include “email,” “social,” “cpc” (cost-per-click), or “organic” (search engine traffic).
- Source (utm_source): This parameter delves deeper into the specific source within the chosen medium. For instance, within “social,” the source could be “facebook,” “twitter,” or even a specific influencer’s handle.
- Campaign (utm_campaign): This parameter allows you to categorize campaigns within the same medium and source. Running a “Spring Sale” promotion across email and social media? The campaign parameter would be “SpringSale” for both channels, allowing you to compare their performance.
By strategically using these parameters, you can manually track campaign performance in spreadsheets or simple analytics tools. Let’s explore some best practices:
Best Practices for Manual Campaign Tracking
- Consistency is Key: Ensure all your campaign URLs consistently use the same parameter names and values. This makes data analysis smoother and avoids confusion.
- Embrace Clear Naming: Use descriptive names for your campaigns, sources, and mediums. For example, “Email_WelcomeSeries” or “Social_Influencer_JohnDoe.” This clarity simplifies data interpretation later.
- Don’t Skip the Details: While Medium, Source, and Campaign are the core, consider including additional parameters like “term” (specific keyword) for paid search campaigns. This provides even richer insights.
- Utilize UTM Builders: Free online tools like Google’s Campaign URL Builder can streamline the process of creating UTM-tagged URLs. Simply input your desired parameters, and the tool generates the complete URL.
- Spread the Knowledge: Educate your team on campaign parameter usage. This ensures consistency across all marketing efforts.
Putting it into Action: A Practical Example
Let’s illustrate how these parameters work with a real-world example. You’re running a back-to-school promotion with a dedicated landing page. You plan to promote it via email marketing and social media advertising:
- Email Marketing: Here, the Medium would be “email,” the Source could be your specific email marketing platform (e.g., “Mailchimp”), and the Campaign could be “BackToSchool2024.”
- Social Media Advertising: The Medium becomes “social,” the Source could be the specific platform (e.g., “facebook_ads”), and the Campaign remains “BackToSchool2024.”
By tracking these parameters, you can see which platform (email vs. social ads) drives more traffic to your landing page and ultimately leads to more sales.
Beyond the Basics: Additional Parameters to Consider
While Medium, Source, and Campaign are the foundation, here are some additional parameters you might consider depending on your campaign goals:
- Term (utm_term): This parameter is particularly useful for paid search campaigns, where you can track the specific keywords that triggered the ad clicks.
- Content (utm_content): This parameter helps differentiate between different versions of the same ad or content piece. For instance, you could use it to track the performance of A/B test variations.
Remember, the key is to choose parameters that provide valuable insights for your specific campaigns.
Conclusion: Reap the Rewards of Manual Tracking
While automated analytics tools offer incredible benefits, manual campaign tracking using UTM parameters provides a valuable foundation.
Also Read:-
- The Engine Powering Google Ads Automated Strategies
- Demystifying Auto-Tagging: The Power of GCLID in Google Ads
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